Please help

[Barbara J 115]

getting married to more than one wife is not a crime in several parts of the world including Nigeria, so stick to what u know and dont write stuff u dont know!

There is no need to be so rude but in civilised countries and the western world it is damm illegal so typical that you would write this seeing you have Nigeria flag . 3rd world counties yes it may be but not in the western world of USA thankyou very much. And whay the hell would any woman in her right mind want to marry someone who is married and not sure of his situation.

[katie & sifa 25]

There is no need to be so rude but in civilised countries and the western world it is damm illegal so typical that you would write this seeing you have Nigeria flag . 3rd world counties yes it may be but not in the western world of USA thankyou very much. And whay the hell would any woman in her right mind want to marry someone who is married and not sure of his situation.

I find it pretty offensive that you come onto the Sub Saharan Africa board and say that you think African countries aren't civilized and are "third world." Please just understand that sometimes tribal marriages aren't as cut and dry, you're married now you're divorced, as they might be here.

To the OP: good luck & I hope your friend gets it sorted. Hopefully she can talk to him about what she suspects and if he is still married then he needs to be divorced before he can marry her here in the US.

[Aya820 33]

There is no need to be so rude but in civilised countries and the western world it is damm illegal so typical that you would write this seeing you have Nigeria flag . 3rd world counties yes it may be but not in the western world of USA thankyou very much. And whay the hell would any woman in her right mind want to marry someone who is married and not sure of his situation.

I beg to differ it is illegal in Nigeria as well....The following is an excerpt (and a link to the website if you care to read further) from the Nigerian Marriage Act, Chapter 218, 1990:

Nigerian Marriage Act

Invalid Marriages

33. (1) No marriage in Nigeria shall be valid where either of the parties thereto at the time of the celebration of such marriage is married under customary law to any person other than the person with whom such marriage is had

Offences and Penalties

39. Whoever, being unmarried, goes through the ceremony of marriage under this Act with a person whom he or she knows to be married to another person, shall be liable to imprisonment for five years.

So, that being said, as Katie&Sifa stated,there are tribal marriages, but that does not make a second (or third, and so on) marriage legal as far as the Registry in Nigeria is concerned...

OP, I suggest your friend look into this pronto before entering into a marriage where she isn't sure if he is married still or not. As previous posters have stated, if he answered "married" on any form to enter into the USA, then he will have to produce a divorce cert before they can marry here (or produce one even if they married in Nigeria).

[ADMIRE 3]

Hi everyone, I have a friend who is about to get married to a Nigerian in the USA. But she thinks that when he got married in Nigeria 15 years ago, she thinks that he never got a divorce, and they are about to get married next week. Do anyone know if immingration will find out if he is still married in Nigeria or do he have to get a divorce before they get married here in the USA. Please I hope someone can help her. Thanks

So sorry for the late reply.

I would like to let you know that they are better off not married yet until after a proper divorce has been accomplished. My story:

Went for my interview in June of this year, and was told to verify my hubby's divorce papers from the high court. Got a verification but unfortunately i got a verification from the court but the embassy claims they were unable to verify same from the court.

At follow-up interview, hubby was asked to write a detailed letter informing them of the whole process in obtaining the divorce in the first place. He did. I took it there. They took their time to read it. Their verdict.

Their Verdict goes:

They believe our story and our relationship but find my hubby's divorce unacceptable, saying that the court can not find it in their records, hence the divorce is illegal and thus our marriage NOT VALID! after 5 years of marriage with 2 children!!

The Solution:

Hubby to return home, initiate a legal divorce suit which by the way is costing us slightly more that 1000USD in legal fees and all. Get a new divorce certificate (legal and recorded, they said). After which WE ARE TO GET MARRIED AGAIN AT THE REGISTRY AND SNAP PLENTY PHOTOS!!!

These steps are for us to have a new divorce certificate and a new valid marriage certificate.

After which we are to contact them that we are ready and bring back those two docs along with the registry photos.

Conclusion:

Your friend should ask the fiance to initiate a divorce if he hasn't done that already. Have the certificate in hand, then go ahead and get married. Otherwise they might end up wasting precious time later. Time that could have been saved, not to metion money.

That is my sumbission. Hope it helped.

[angel73 0]

Thanks so much ADMIRE or the reply. Sorry it took so long for the reply but I was in the hosiptal for 3 days and now I'm home and I decided to take a look on visa journey. That is what I told my friend that when she go and talk to her attorney she should ask him and make sure she get the orginal copy of the divorce decree. Like i told her just be careful. When I sponser my husband to the USA I had now problem at all. When he went for his interview they took his passport and then a couple days later he got his visa, and he been in the USA since. Thanks

[Mr. K 8]

There is no need to be so rude but in civilised countries and the western world it is damm illegal so typical that you would write this seeing you have Nigeria flag . 3rd world counties yes it may be but not in the western world of USA thankyou very much. And whay the hell would any woman in her right mind want to marry someone who is married and not sure of his situation.

Nigeria and most of Africa is civilized.

[Bodmas 2]

go ahead with ur marriage getting divorce paper in nigeria is not the problem as long as u never file for ur nigeria husband before

[NigeriaorBust 4,087]

go ahead with ur marriage getting divorce paper in nigeria is not the problem as long as u never file for ur nigeria husband before

You have to have a divorce paper before you get married. Bad advice will cause delays and heartaches. She needs to have the Nigerian divorce paper in hand before she marries here. I know a lot of Nigerians thinks they can sneak their way around US immigration laws but such advice is counter productive.

[ajigglin 0]

are you talking legal marriage or traditional marriage? that question was never clarified.

if legal, he needs the divorce first. if traditional, then no-your friend can proceed.